Fractured
by UniqueStreak
Summary: Extremely popular, extremely hot Jace Wayland knows how to get the girls and break the hearts, but when he sets his sights on the new girl, Clary, she refuses to play his game. As they get to know eachother, secrets from their pasts are revealed, and when they get swept up in a tornado of emotions, no one's sure where it will take them.
1. Escape

Chapter 1~Escape

**Jace**

_Damn, not again._ I took one last look at the tear-stained face of my most recent girlfriend before deftly sliding out of the passenger seat and closing the car door with a slam. The rain was pounding down on the helpless people of rural Seattle without mercy, and standing out in the open parking lot of a run- down hotel where I had spent the night, I was drenched within seconds. How could this happen again? I thought I finally had my…_situation_, under control! So how did I end up walking away from another heartbroken girl with a guilty conscience and an empty pit in place of my heart?

I walked slowly away from the girl's car and towards my own, thinking about what had just happened. Again. I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I just couldn't seem to stop. Ever since that day at the hospital, the day my life was torn to pieces and I was thrown into the world alone. That day when my parents, the only people who truly cared…_No. Stop right there,_ I mentally berated myself for even thinking about my parents again. _That part of your life is over._ But I couldn't help feeling the small stab of pain that any reminder of them brought, and I took a deep breath to block the memories that were threatening to flood through my carefully built barriers.

I subtly shook my head to clear my thoughts. _So what if it's another girl? It doesn't mean anything._ I smiled mockingly to himself. _It never does._ But a tiny voice at the back of my head spoke up. _Then why do you keep doing it?_ To forget. To dull the pain. To show everyone I was tough enough to take on anyone. _ I'm doing just fine as I am. _I strode to my car parked across the lot, unlocked it, and quickly slid into the driver's seat, glad to be out of the rain. It was two a.m. on a Sunday morning and I had already broken someone's heart. _I need to get out of here._ I recklessly jammed my keys into the ignition, pulled out of the parking lot, got onto the highway, and started driving to the only escape I knew.

**Clary**

I pulled into the parking lot of the apartment I would be staying at for the next two years, wearing dark, jewel-studded shades, a tank top, short running shorts, and a crappy mood. I had just moved into this goddamn city and already it was raining like there's no tomorrow! I missed California already, with its sandy beaches and constantly shining sun. California felt free and full of possibilities that made you think you could do anything. Here in Seattle, the constant cover of dark gray clouds and the looming mountains felt so oppressive that I couldn't help but become crabby every time I looked at my surroundings. With a sigh, I reluctantly got out of the car, and without the foresight to bring an umbrella or proper clothing, I was sopping wet by the time I reached the trunk. Unloading the last of my luggage, none of which would be wearable in the best Seattle weather, I trudged slowly up the steps to the building, locking the car behind me.

My apartment was on the second floor, number 201, and I opened the door to a neatly arranged, homey but well-sized apartment, with one bedroom, a kitchen, and a family room. I looked around approvingly. _Well, at least the apartment's nice._ I tossed I suitcases onto the nearest piece of furniture, a light brown couch I had brought from California, and took a look around, wondering where my mother was. She was supposed to be here to see the apartment, and then both of us were supposed to unpack. There wasn't an apartment big enough to fit both of us comfortably the way we had hoped, so she would be staying in the room next door. I thought that was just a _tiny bit_ overprotective, considering I was 17, but I didn't put up too much of a fight.

I opened the fridge to find one diet coke sitting on the shelf, leftover from my drive up here. Popping the tab, I plopped down on the couch, when suddenly music started playing. I jumped, at first thinking that there was someone else in the room, but then realized it was my ringtone. Feeling kinda stupid, I answered.

"Hello?"

"Hi, sweetie! How's the apartment?" Jocelyn asked. Her light tone seemed almost forced, making me cautious.

"Hi, Mom. It's good. I thought you were supposed to be here by now."

"Oh, Clary, that's the thing. I just got a phone call from work saying that they need me in L.A. for two more weeks before they're shipping me up there, so it's just going to be you for a few days-"

"WHAT?" I screeched. "Mom, the only reason I moved up here was because of your STUPID job, and now you're telling me I could've stayed for another two weeks in L.A.? You can't be serious!"

My mom sounded worried, like this wasn't at all how she thought I'd take the news. "Honey, I thought you'd be happy to hear this! It means you get to live on your own for the first time!"

"Well sorry for not living up to your expectations, but you didn't exactly hold up your end of the deal either, so it looks like we'll both be disappointed," I practically screamed into the phone.

"CLARY, calm DOWN! It's not that big a deal!" She was getting pissed now too. Well good. She deserves it. "This works best because you can start a new school year along with everyone else! And besides, it's not my fault you're unable to cope with the littlest change in plans, and this immaturity makes me think you're not going to be able to handle this on your own! If I feel the need, I can always send Steve down to check on you once in a while," she threatened. She knew how much I hated Steve, her boyfriend for 8 months now, and the possibility of him intruding on my new life after she had wrecked my old one was just too much

"You know what, Mom? Whatever! You do what you want! It's not like you actually care that you're ruining my life, so just go!" I slam the phone onto the couch and punch the nearest wall as hard as I can. I know, real mature. Pain shoots up my arm, and in seconds I'm doubled over, clutching my hand and swearing. God, she has to ruin EVERYTHING! She has no idea how hard it was for me to leave my life in California, my friends that I had known since preschool, everything I had ever known. But I had done it, because she didn't want us to live apart yet. And now she was telling me it was no big deal?

I needed someone to talk to, but since I knew absolutely no one in this entire goddamn city, I needed a place to escape. Without even thinking, I stormed out of my room, flew into the car, and remembering an exit sign I had seen coming off the highway, started driving to the one place I knew would be familiar.


	2. Unexpected Meeting

Chapter 2~ Unexpected Meeting

**Jace**

When most people are upset, they call a friend and bail on the phone for hours, and after a while, they feel better. Me, I don't have anyone I can call, because it feels like no one knows the real me, the one without the tough guy façade, the one that was crushed by what happened to his parents and still needs a way to cope. So instead, I come here, to the most wild, free, untamed place in Seattle. Right off the highway leading into town, there's a small, hard-to-find beach that's mostly empty on any given day. There's only a strip of sand about 5 miles long, bordered on one side by steep, rocky cliffs and on the other a rough ocean with high waves and coarse sand that isn't good for anything but covering the seagull crap.

Most people know to stay clear of it because it's the most isolated beach in Seattle, and if you were hurt, no one would be able to find you in time. I come here because it's the one place I can be alone with my thoughts, and with nature as the only witness to what's really going on inside of me. Today the ocean was especially violent, the wind picking up just as the rain slowed to a light drizzle. Waves crashed onto the shore, creating a deafening roar.

I let the sound of the ocean drown out my thoughts as I sat in my car with my head in my hands, wondering how I was going to get out of this rut in my life that I was stuck in. I hated these moments of weakness, but no matter how much I acted like I wasn't hurt, I would always break down eventually.

I got out of my car and walked towards the water, wanting just to feel the waves run over my toes as I squelched along in the sand, when I heard the faint sound of another car engine running. Knowing I had turned mine off, I turned around and squinted through the sprinkle to see what other crazy person had come to this desolate beach so early in the morning. The car pulled up in the spot next to mine, and out stepped a slim feminine figure with blazing red hair and lightly tanned skin. I was too far away to see any more, so not wanting to be noticed, I kept walking along the shore, trying to drown my problems in the feral ocean waves.

**Clary**

This beach wasn't like anything I had seen in California. Gone was the fine pale sand that slipped between my toes and the mild, rolling waves that gently crashed onto the shore. In its place was coarse, rockier sand that made the bottoms of your feet tingle, and an ocean that roared with every wave, slamming into the shore relentlessly. But all the same, the beach seemed like just the place I needed right now, a place to help me forget about my situation for a while and just think.

I hadn't expected anyone else to be here, nor did I _want_ anyone else to be here, but all the same, I couldn't help but be intrigued when I saw a lone figure pacing along the water's edge. I pulled into the parking spot next to the only other car, and sat there for a moment, taking a deep breath. Figuring that a walk on the beach would help calm me down, I got out of the car, took off my sandals, and slowly strolled through the sand barefoot. I loved the soothing feeling of sand squishing through my toes and the cold rain trickling down my back. I walked absentmindedly as I thought back to my fight with Jocelyn and realized I had been kind of irrational. It wasn't her fault her boss was a jerk, but I couldn't help it. I just missed my life so much already, and school hadn't even started yet! I needed to talk to Simon.

I'd known him ever since we were four years old and he moved down the street from me. On the very first day of preschool, I accidently spilled paint all over myself, and when the rest of my pigtailed, booger filled class laughed at me, Simon toddled over to the paint station, dumped paint all over himself and said, "Hey Clary, now we match!" We had been best friends ever since.

Somehow I found myself only a few yards away from the person I had seen from my car earlier. Not wanting to be rude by staring, I quickly snuck a glance at him, and couldn't believe my eyes. He had long golden hair and a tanned, muscular body that was visible through his soaking white shirt. He was gorgeous, and in one of my quick peeks I saw him glancing at me. His eyes were a deep gold color, and there was something about them that instantly drew me in.

"Hey," he said hesitantly, his voice strangely hollow. I was instantly on my guard, well aware that an extremely good-looking stranger was trying to talk to me on a deserted beach in the rain.

"Hey."

We were silent for a while, and I was wondering if that would be as far as our conversation would go, when he said, "So. Why are _you _out here this early on a Sunday morning?" he asked tiredly.

I didn't know how to respond to that. He was a complete stranger! I didn't want to tell him about my personal life, so I responded vaguely. "I had some…things I needed to think about. Why are you here?"

"Same." He looked me up and down with those mesmerizing golden eyes and allowed himself a small smile. "Seems to me you're new here."

"How would you know that?"

"Because you're carrying sunglasses and wearing a tank top in the rain in _Seattle_. You look as out of place as a cat in a dog park."

I was immediately irritated. "Great. So I've known you all of two seconds and you're already comparing me to an animal. Whatever." I scowled at him. I knew I was being touchy, but I really wasn't in the mood to be insulted by the first person I talked to in this city. I sighed and began walking away.

**Jace**

Wow. She was new, she was alone, she was feisty and she was attractive, but in the first minute that I talked to her I managed to insult her. Just my luck.

"Wait! Hey, hang on a sec!" I ran to catch up to her, my feet splashing cold water all over me, making me shiver slightly. I slowed to a walk as I reached her side, our hands close enough to touch. She immediately took a step away. I barely knew her and already she was rejecting me. Good. I loved a challenge. "I don't even know your name!"

"And?"

"All right. I'm Jace. Jace Wayland," I introduced myself, wanting to know what she would say next. This was nothing more than a game to me now, a challenge to see if I could get her to fall for me as I had with so many other girls.

"Hi. I'm Gertrude. Gertrude Witherbottom," she said mockingly.

There was no way that was her real name, but I played along anyway. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Gertrude," I said, turning on the charm. I flashed her a smile, the one that made all the girls at school melt, but she just snorted in exasperation and walked faster. Every time I tried to match pace with her, she just increased speed, and before we knew it, we were both at a full on sprint. Right then I realized that this girl wouldn't be an easy catch like the rest of them. But she didn't know what she was getting into, running away from Jace Wayland. And I'm not one to back down from a challenge. If this was the game, I wanted to keep playing.

**Clary**

God, what a stalker! He just couldn't seem to take a hint! His name sounded familiar, like I had heard it before in passing conversation. But I knew it was time to go when he flashed me that smile and I looked straight into his eyes. There was something fake there, like I was just another toy he was playing with, and I wasn't about to fall into _that _trap before I had even lived one day in this city.

As I sprinted away from him I was feeling pretty confident. I was on the track team, and last year I won the California State Champion title of the 1600m run. There wasn't a chance he could outrun me, especially because I could keep this pace up for hours. But as I was running, I saw a blond blob in the corner of my vision, and it was slowly moving closer. How? Then I recalled his perfectly muscled body, his perfectly toned abs, and it dawned on me. _Damn._ He was a runner too, and a pretty good one at that if he could keep up with me. Back at my old school, I was running five minute miles on average, and no one at my school was able to keep up with me, boy or girl. Wanting to see just how fast and far he could go, I sped up one notch, then two, until I was panting for breath and could feel the exertion in my muscles, but he kept the pace strong. Feeling the heat of exercise all over my body, I carefully slipped my shirt over my head as I was running, so that I was just running in my sports bra. _Ahh, much better._ Without my t-shirt to keep the heat in, I instantly cooled off, and feeling refreshed, picked up the pace with new energy.

I don't know how far we went, but by the time I decided to slow the pace down, we were both sweating and breathing heavily, and our cars were just specks in the distance. I put my hands over my head and started walking, aware of him slowing down next to me until we were close enough to touch. My heart was already racing, but I felt a different kind of adrenaline pump through me as I took in his lightly sweating body and handsome features. But I wasn't getting caught up in that, especially not with this guy.

"Wow," Jace said between breaths. "You're incredible. I've never seen a girl run like that!"

Again, an insult, this time in the form of a sexist remark. "You really have no idea how to talk to girls without being rude, do you?" I asked, angry now.

"That's not what I meant. Just, wow. No one's ever been able to keep up with me like that when we're not in a race. Do you run track?"

I let my attitude go a little. "Yeah, I do. I was the state champion of California last year in the mile. But geez! At my old school, no one was able to push me like that! That was…" Realizing I was about to compliment him, I quickly changed my train of thought. "…exhilarating for me."

He laughed, like he knew what I was about to say and wanted to play along. "Phew. Hang on, I kinda need to sit down and stretch now, if you don't mind." He plopped down a few feet from the water's edge and began loosening his muscles.

Without realizing what I was doing, I sat down next to him and started stretching. I could feel my caution slipping as I spent more time with this annoying, arrogant, mysterious boy, but what the heck. After today, I would probably never see him again. "How about you? Do you run track?"

"Yeah," he said, but that was it. No elaboration, almost like he _wanted_ me to be interested in him, but didn't want to return the feeling. Well, if he thought I was going to play along, he was completely wrong. When he realized I wasn't going to ask him to say more, he smiled, amused. "So Gertrude isn't your real name, is it?" When I shook my head, he asked, "Then what is it?"

I sighed figuring this guy was getting nowhere, and I might as well throw him a bone. "Clarissa Fray, but my friends call me Clary."

"So, Clary-"

But before he could get any further, I interrupted him. "_Clarissa,"_ I said pointedly. He smirked.

"So, Clarissa, I take it you'll be starting school tomorrow with the rest of Seattle."

I groaned. "Guess so."

"Which school will you be attending?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I managed to say that with an almost-straight face. This guy was persistent. And annoying. And rude. And hot. And mysterious…_Shut up Clary, _I told myself. _You're not getting involved. __**IF**__ he was even really interested._

**Jace**

This girl was good. No girl had resisted my…_everything_ for this long without any signs of cracking. But that made it all the more exciting for me. As we stretched I admired her strong but slender body, and her delicate facial features, liking what I saw, and I resisted the urge to reach out and touch her hair, just to see what her reaction would be. Damn. This was the behavior that I needed to stop. But that's how it went with me. I would have a moment of clarity, but it would be swallowed the instant I felt the memories bubbling up again, and I would end up playing with the feelings of another girl. And part of me admired Clary for being smart enough to recognize when to stay away.

But the other part of me wouldn't stop trying to get Clary hooked, if only just to prove to myself that I could. So naturally, I kept flirting with her. And man, would she be a catch. Redheaded, attractive, runner, great body, spirited. And wow, in that sports bra and running shorts, she looked incredibly…sexy. But I wasn't about to show her that I was interested. After all, that's not how it worked. They _always_ came after _me. _

Yet, I had dated plenty of other girls that pretty much had all of those qualities, and for some reason, I felt like something about Clary was different from the rest of them. And I kind of wanted to get to know her and find out what that was. _Snap out of it, Jace._ _That's not the way you roll._ No commitment, no real feelings other than arrogance and lust, just rolling without emotion. That's how the Jace train flowed.

We kept stretching, just making small talk, me with the questions, her with the witty responses. About halfway through our standing stretches, the sun came out, and before long, both her and I were sweating again. But as time passed, we both began yawning more and more, and I realized I hadn't slept in over 24 hours. As we were finishing up the stretches that required lying on your back, Clary dozed off. When I realized she had fallen asleep, I smiled to myself, finally allowing my body to tell me how exhausted I was. For a while, I just lay on my back, a tired haze coating my mind, and I slowly fell asleep staring at the delicate features of Clary Fray's face.


	3. The First Goodbye

Chapter 3~ The First Goodbye

**Clary**

I woke up to sunlight streaming onto my face and blinding me as I opened my eyes. My back felt sore and rough, and my hair was surrounding my head like a fiery red mane. Oh, great. Now _I_ was comparing myself to an animal. I slowly began taking in my surroundings, and couldn't believe what I was seeing. There was watery sunlight peeking out of the clouds, and I was laying on a rocky beach with my legs half in the water next to a gorgeous, golden-haired boy. _Oh my god, Clary. What have you done?_ I thought to myself, but as soon as I thought that, the morning's events came flooding back to me. A part of me was relieved as I found an explanation for why I was lying next to a boy, asleep. Jace was still asleep, thank goodness, so I had some time to collect my thoughts.

The first thing I did was throw my now sand-filled hair back into a sloppy ponytail and walk into the ocean to rinse the sand of my legs. The water was shockingly cold the deeper you went, waking me up even further. After a quick rinse, I trudged back to Jace's side and threw on my tank top over my damp sports bra.

Now I was left with a dilemma. Should I leave now before I had to awkwardly confront Jace, or I could stick around and…awkwardly confront Jace. Putting it like that, my mind was made up. I was just about to stand up and leave when Jace's arm slowly stretched above his head and he yawned.

"Hey there, Mr. Sleepyhead," I greeted Jace hesitantly, not sure if we were back to the on-edge conversations or the casual talk of our stretching.

"Hi, Clarissa." Groaning, he sat then stood up and rubbed his face. When that stuck sand everywhere, he too walked into the ocean to rinse up. While he was in the water I began to slowly walk back in the direction of our cars. We had a long walk ahead of us.

**Jace**

I washed up in the ocean then ran through the sand to catch up with Clary. "Good morning."

"Good morning," she said cautiously. I liked that, how no matter what I said, she didn't fall for my act. And I had no doubt she knew, or at least suspected it was an act.

"So, we ran kinda far yesterday, huh?" I asked. Wow Jace. That was really smooth.

She snickered at me. "No dip, Sherlock." Then a tricky smile snuck across her mouth and she started walking faster. And faster. Knowing what she was doing, I started to run, and before long we were running side by side at a brisk pace, feeling the lukewarm sunlight on our cheeks and enjoying the freedom. I barely knew this girl, but already I felt closer to her than most of my many previous girlfriends, and with none of them had I ever gone running on the beach after dozing off together at four a.m. _Cut it out, Jace. It's just a game, remember?_ But again, a nagging doubt at the back of my mind said, _Then why, Jace, do you have to keep reminding yourself of that?_

**Clary**

The run passed quickly as we were going at too fast a pace to maintain a conversation. When we reached our cars, Jace turned to me and smiled. "So, see you around then?"

But when I looked into his eyes, I saw that the fake look that scared me at first was back, so I responded more harshly than I intended to. "Sure, whatever." We just stood there for a couple of seconds before I broke the silence by self-consciously getting into my car and closing the door. I pulled out of the parking lot, leaving Jace with a slightly confused and almost calculating look on his face.

As I started on my way back to the apartment, I looked at the clock. Two p.m. on a Sunday and I haven't even gotten ready for my first day of school, which was tomorrow. _UGH. Another year of stuck-up snobs and irritating nerds and tedious track meets!_ This was just great. I went to the beach to escape, but now I needed to escape from what happened on the beach. I couldn't stop thinking about Jace. I told myself it was only because he was the first person I had actually talked to in this new city. But part of me couldn't help wondering if it was because of more than that.


	4. New School, New Torture

Chapter 4~New School, New Torture

**Clary**

BEEEEP BEEEEP BEEE- I smacked my alarm clock's off button with all the frustration of a tired, grumpy teenage girl who hates waking up. _Shit. Shit shit shit. _ My first day of school and I hadn't made a single friend in this entire freaking city. I looked at the time. 7:15. I had 15 minutes to get to school. _Shit._ And then I looked at my wardrobe. _Shit._ After I threw on the most appropriate clothes I owned and packed my gym bag full of running clothes for track practice after school, and ran to the kitchen and opened the fridge. _Shit._ All that was left in there was a half-finished diet coke from yesterday that had lost all its fizz. That being the only thing I had and not having time to stop for something on the way, I drained it in one gulp, picked up my previously packed backpack, and flew out the door.

I pulled into the parking lot of Pepper Ridge High School with five minutes to spare. No time to go to my locker. I hastily pulled out my schedule and scanned the sheet for my first period building letter. Seeing that it was first period English/Lit with Mrs. Lanning in Building C, I rushed off in the direction I thought I was supposed to go.

I burst into the classroom just as the bell rang, announcing the start of class. I took the first seat I saw, towards the back of the classroom near the window, giving me a spectacular view of a bush. Looking around me for any possible friends in this class, my attention was drawn to a group at the back corner of the room, obviously the popular crowd from the way the girls dressed and held themselves. Through the mass of bodies surrounding a desk, I caught a glimpse of bright golden hair and one disconcerting golden eye, staring at me in amusement.

I whirled around in my seat so I was facing forward and the large group was just in my peripheral vision. _Shit shit shit. Again._ What was _he_ doing in my class? How can h_e_ of all people manage to get stuck in my first hour class on my first day of school on my second day in this place? Where was the justice? I could NOT deal with him right now, not when I was so flustered and alone. Maybe I was mistaken. Maybe I imagined it, or it was a trick of the light. But I didn't want to know, just in case, so as the teacher entered and began her class, I refused to turn around, no matter how curious I was to see whether Jace really was there or not.

When we had about five minutes of class left when the tall, slender, dark-haired girl who sits next to me leaned towards me, her silky waves slightly brushing the corner of my desk. "That boy in the corner over there is staring at you. If you want, after class I can go punch him."

I looked over at her and gave her a shocked glance. "Um…thanks. But I don't need anyone doing my punching for me," I replied, a little curious about how she knew Jace well enough to punch him for someone else. Not that I needed to know Jace any better to know he was completely punch-worthy.

The girl smiled. "Darn. I was really looking forward to it." She flipped her hair in a well-practiced move over her shoulder, radiating confidence. Up close, I realized she was gorgeous, flawless eyes, full lips, dainty nose, and all accented by the perfect touch of makeup. "Isabelle Lightwood. Nice to meet you…?" She introduced herself with a smile.

"Clarissa Fray, but you can call me Clary," I smiled, trying to ignore the golden eyes I knew were boring into the back of my head. She seemed like my kind of friend, and plus she was the only other girl in the room who wasn't secretly staring at Jace.

Just then the bell rang, releasing us from the first in a long line of jail cells they call classrooms. _Thank goodness. _It wasn't that I was a bad student. Actually I was pretty smart, passing every grade before this with straight A's. It's just that it was so tedious, sitting in a chair for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. That's why I looked forward to the end of the day. That meant track practice, a chance to move around and get my heart pumping and my brain un-numbed. It was also normally my time to socialize, because the team spent so much time together outside of school, it was hard _not_ to become close friends.

"See ya around, Fray," Isabelle said, instantly adopting Simon's old nickname for me as she gracefully glided out the door, though on four-inch high heels I was surprised she didn't fall over right then.

As I sat there with my books, a well-tanned hand trailed across my desk, and reflexively I looked up to see who it was. Immediately I wished I hadn't.

Guess who. "Hello, Clarissa. Fancy seeing you here."

I sighed. "Hi Jace." With my books in my hand, I walked out the door. "Bye Jace."

**Jace**

I smirked, and strolled out of the classroom with a crowd of girls and guys surrounding me. But I was used to that. Popularity automatically came with my good looks and athletic talent. Now where had Clary gone? I scanned the crowded hallways for her bright red head bobbing around and spotted her struggling with her locker a few yards down the hallway. I sauntered up behind her and without making a sound, squeezed the sides of her stomach so she squealed and crumpled to the floor.

I burst out laughing along with the rest of the guys who followed me to Clary. She stood up quickly, fire burning in her eyes and her cheeks red enough to roast marshmallows on.

"Don't EVER touch me again." She hissed at me, putting her hands on my chest and pushing me a step back. With the space between us, she visibly relaxed, and I wondered what had happened in her past that made her so afraid of physical closeness. Uh-oh. Not a good start. Especially not in front of the guys. But I didn't let that show in my eyes when I responded. Putting on my arrogant act, I said, "Woah. Sorry, Clary. I know how irresistible _this_ is," I said, gesturing to my body, "But hands off." A few people snickered behind me. Good. I had her trapped, with an audience too.

Clary recovered quickly, even with the audience, and pretended to gag.

Before I could respond, there was pushing and shoving to get through the throng of people behind me, and out pushed Isabelle. _God, Isabelle. Not now._

"Jace, quit harassing Clary, or I'm going to punch you." There were a few laughs from the crowd, but they were instantly silenced by the look in Isabelle's eyes as she glared at them. "Come on, Clary. Let's go." She yanked Clary's arm, pulling her through the crowd of people.

I turned and watched them go as passé surrounded me once more, but even as I slung my arm around my new girlfriend, Sabrina, my thoughts hovered over Clary. I was hoping that my closeness would be enough to stun her just long enough to prove she wanted me, but that sort of backfired. And I tried not to admit it to myself, but I liked how composed she was, and how she was able to keep up with my insults and quick remarks with quips of her own. Even before Isabelle came in and rescued her, she looked like she could have handled it. This might not be as easy a game to play as I thought it would. And I wasn't sure I wanted to play if I was going to lose. For once, that was a possibility.

**Clary**

I stormed into the lunchroom, seething. So that's the type of person Jace was. A player. I suspected as much when I first met him on the beach and I saw that fake, seductive look in his eyes, but then he seemed to drop the act so I just let it go. And then today he comes up and completely embarrasses me like that, having his arm slung around like three different girls the entire time. What right did he have to strut around the school like he owned the place? God, I hated him right now.

But even as I saw what a complete asshole he could be, I couldn't help but feel that that wasn't the real Jace. I felt like the _real_ was the one I had met on the beach, after the fake look disappeared from his eyes, and that the Jace I had met today was an act. If that were true then it would explain his completely different attitudes from one day to the next, but then the real question would become…_why_?

I grabbed my lunch, a sloppily made cheeseburger and some sweet potato fries, and looked around for a place to sit. Spotting Isabelle's flashy dress sparkling from the table farthest from the door, I made my way through the kids towards her.

"Hey, Isabelle, would it be all right if I sat here?" I asked her, even though the table was mostly empty aside from two boys sitting directly across from them and a girl two seats down. Isabelle was talking to the two boys, but she looked up when I spoke.

"Hey Clary, have a seat! This is Cole," Isabelle gestured to the boy across from her with deep electric blue eyes and perkily, all traces of the earlier incident gone. "And this is Jonathan," she finished, pointing to the other boy, who wore glasses and a shy smile.

"Hi guys," I said, taking a seat. "Isabelle, I need to talk to you about what happened today I the hallway with Jace."

"Oh that. Sorry about that, my brother can be a real asshole sometimes. Actually, most of the time," Isabelle conceded, chowing down on her own lunch, a ham and cheese sandwich.

I almost spat out the flavored water I had just started drinking, the liquid trickling down my chin as I choked. "You're BROTHER?" I almost screamed in shock, getting a few strange looks from the surrounding tables.

"Yeah. Everyone knows that," she said simply. "He's adopted of course. His parents died when he was twelve, and he's been living with us ever since. I don't know why you're acting so surprised," Isabelle accused in response to the look of complete disbelief that was occupying my face.

I was still trying to come to terms with this new revelation, when I heard a commotion behind me.

"Speaking of the devil," Isabelle whispered, right before I heard the familiar, dreaded voice coming from right behind me. _How come I hated this boy so much?_ I didn't understand.

"Hey sis'," Jace said from right behind me. "Clary."

I ignored him. "I just came over here to tell you that Alec is going to pick you up from dance because Mom is busy and I need the car to drive home after practice." Oh. It made sense that Isabelle was a dancer, considering her looks, toned body, and gracefulness. I was just a teensy bit jealous.

"Fine. Now leave," Isabelle snapped irritably. I guess she hadn't forgotten about this morning after all. Jace gave me one last glance before turning and leisurely walking away.

**Jace**

_What was her problem?_ Not Isabelle, she was like that all the time. But Clary. Was she always so pissed around everyone? Every time I've seen her, her first reaction was one of anger. But maybe that was just an automatic defense. I wasn't sure. I wasn't sure of anything around her anymore, and I found myself thinking about her far more than I realized throughout the rest of the day. Man, this girl was really screwing around with my brain. I wasn't certain what to make of her yet, but going against the "player" part of me, I hoped that I would find out, and soon.


	5. Track Attack

Chapter 5~ Track Attack

**Clary**

I walked out of the high school with my track bag slung over my shoulder and headed straight for what I thought were the locker rooms. The door to the girls' locker rooms was in a corner tucked under the bleachers next to the football field. The track surrounded the football fields, and the soccer fields were just off to my right. It looked like a nice sports complex, but I was still to meet the coach and the rest of the girls on the team.

The first thing I saw when I entered the locker rooms was a bunch of girls screaming and laughing together, catching up on the summer's events and drama that didn't find a time to get shared during the school day. I felt kind of left out because I didn't know anyone, and I found myself wishing that Izzy was here so I would have _someone_ to talk to.

But it turns out I was worried for nothing. As soon as I set my bag down on one of the benches in between lockers, a bunch of girls came up to me.

A girl with short cropped blond hair and bright blue eyes emerged from the group and introduced herself. "Hey, I'm Kayla! Aren't you new here?"

"Yup. I'm Clary. So all of you guys run track?" Ooo, ouch. I could feel my social status sink through the ground with that one. No duh they ran track, otherwise they wouldn't be there. But to my surprise, no one seemed to notice, or if they did, no one cared. They all nodded their heads and introduced themselves.

While Kellies and Chloes and what seemed like thousands of other names flew around my head, I started changing into my sports bra and matching bright pink running shorts, smiling and laughing the whole time. Before I knew it, we were out on the field doing warm-ups and stretching for that afternoon's workout.

"So, have any of you seen this year's boys team? I hear that they're really… eye-pleasing," Kayla asked with a failed attempt at a flirty eyebrow wiggle. A bunch of the girls snorted as if they didn't even care, but none of us could help looking over at the boys' locker room door, waiting for the yet-to-emerge male side of our team.

Then, almost as if they knew we were looking, the boys started streaming out the door, rowdily jumping on each others' shoulders and hooting loud enough to attract our attention. And in the center of the crowd was none other than the king of jerks himself, Jace Wayland.

My first thought was, _was this kid following me?_ I was getting madder by the second as he fixed his stare on me and raised his eyebrows tauntingly, as if reading my thoughts and daring me to do something about it. I was just about to go over there and punch the freaking daylights out of him when reason caught up to me. I flashed back to the day on the beach when he admitted that he ran track but didn't say more. I didn't put two and two together until now, and I kicked myself mentally for not seeing this one coming. _Of COURSE the guy that annoys you out of your mind runs on the same track team you do. What did you expect?_

Kayla leaned over and whispered in my ear, "What did you do to deserve the golden god's attention?" She smirked. "I don't know what he wants, but good luck with that one. I have a feeling you're gonna need it."

_C'mon, Fray. Loosen up. If he wants to play games with you, you're gonna show him what you're made of!_ I smiled back at Kayla. "Well, he _is_ kinda hot."

"_HOT?_" she whisper-screamed. "_That's _the understatement of the century. Just _look_ at him! He looks like freakin' ZEUS!"

And I had to admit, he was kind of…dazzling. Despite my extremely large ego, I could feel my girl senses tingling just looking at him. His beautiful, radiant hair, his tanned, golden skin, the perfectly toned body, those mesmerizing, deep eyes that seemed to mask an inner pain. There was something almost majestic about him, and I couldn't help but stare, wondering what it would feel like to run my hands through those silky locks of hair…

Almost like he knew what we were thinking, he smirked at us and his hands mocked a telephone as he mouthed, _Call me_. And just like that, all my semi-positive thoughts about him vaporized, only to be replaced with angry annoyance in his girl-obsessed ways. I was struck by the notion of how many girls at this school he must have slept with, or at least dated, to obtain that level of arrogant confidence when flirting. Disgust filled me, and I turned away with an indifferent face to hide my thoughts.

"All right blimpies, gather 'round. I'm Coach Wilson. You will refer to me only as Sir, Coach, or Coach Wilson. Today we're going to start out easy. Boys and girls will train together. Short distance people, you're sticking with me for a track workout."

There was a collective groan from the team, and Coach frowned. "What was that?" Silence. "That's what I thought. Throwers, you can head down and start warming up those non-existent biceps. Distance runners, head out off-campus, do about 5 miles and head back in for a stretch. Wayland, you're in charge. Don't blow it or I'll blow you. We'll begin time trials two days from now, so if you want any semblance of a season, you will train hard, starting now."

We just sat there. "_Well? _Are you waiting for a damn invitation? GO!" We scattered, breaking off into groups based on our event. Finding the distance people off in a corner, I joined the group, seeing that a couple girls from the locker room were also standing there. I walked up to them, smiling, and joined in their idle chitchat, not sure if we were supposed to start the run yet but not sure what we were waiting for either.

I felt warm air on the back of my neck, and before I could turn around and smack the person I knew it would be, his teasing whisper sounded in my ear. "Hey there, Clarissa. Why are you avoiding me, hmm?"

_Don't let him see that he makes you uncomfortable._ In a completely calm voice, devoid of any humor, I answered, "Because you're a complete ass, Jace."

There were various ooh's and taunts from the people that overheard. He snorted. "Then why can't you seem to keep your catlike green eyes off me?" he mocked.

"WHY YOU-" _Calm, Clary. Calm._ "Your load of ugliness deserves to be ogled at. After all, it isn't every day that you get to see a talking pile of trash." I knew it was bad, but it was all I could do on the spot.

Jace tried to keep cool, but I saw the flash of anger in his eyes before he covered it in those pools of liquid gold. "That's not what you thought when you were-"

Before Jace could say any more, Coach shouted through his bullhorn from across the track, "Wayland, GET MOVING! Don't make me come over there…" There were laughs at the coach's pathetic threats, but without further encouragement we ambled as a group out onto the walking trail that lead up just one of Seattle's many small mountains and started running.

**Jace**

As usual, I took my spot at the front of the pack, setting the pace at a brisk jog. But my brisk jog being some other athletes' almost-sprint, the distance between me and the bulk of the group slowly began to grow until they were just a dark blob in the distance.

I began to relax as I lost myself in the soothing repetition of the run, and enjoyed the refreshing exertion coursing through my muscles. I was completely alone on the trail when the canopy of trees that had been surrounding me since the beginning of the workout slowly thinned to reveal a clearing. In the center of a clearing was an empty park, the kind with the playgrounds that four year-olds enjoy playing tag on.

For a second, I felt a flash of familiarity, as if somehow I had been here before, but I shook it off, thinking there were probably a zillion parks around the city just like it. There was a water fountain a little ways away from the equipment, and I figured I was so far ahead of everyone else that I could stop for a drink and they'd be none the wiser. I jogged to the drinking fountain, tilted my head to catch the water pumping out of the spout, and sighed as the refreshing coolness of the liquid flowed down my throat.

It was as if I had lost control of my body. All of a sudden my eyes zeroed in on the dull green slide attached to the playground, and the whole world faded into the background as my memory swallowed me whole.

_"Mommy, catch me! I'm coming down!" I stood aside, a nonexistent, ghostly form of myself as I watched Jace as a three year-old whip himself down the slide, only to be cushioned from the fall by my mother's arms. I let out a giggle, then whispered, "Betcha can't catch me now!"I took off running on my chubby toddler legs away from my mom and barreled right into the legs of my dad. _

_ "Garrrr, I'm gonna getcha, here I come! You better run, little Jace-y, cuz I'm a-coming." I watched as my father chased me around the entire playground, acting like a monster until finally I collapsed, exhausted, into the grass. _

_ My father tickled me, then walked over to my mother and swept her up into his arms. "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. You know I love you, right?" Before she could respond his kissed her lightly on the lips and locked her in a tight embrace._

The memory faded, but the pain it brought intensified as reality came rushing back to me. My _parents weren't here. They would never be here again_. Being reminded like that, through a memory that felt so real it hurt, was too much for me. I felt myself sink to the ground. I couldn't breathe, and the world echoed around me. _How could they leave me like this?_ I hunched over kneeling on the ground, wondering if the agony of remembering would ever stop, and trying to squeeze the pieces of my fractured heart back together again.


	6. Don't Look Back

Chapter 6~ Don't Look Back

**Clary**

When I run, it's the one time I can be alone with my thoughts, the time when I sort through my life and try to make sense of it all. Normally it's relieving being able to get a grip on things that are normally moving too fast to puzzle over. I was running all alone, ahead of the big pack by quite a distance, and the quiet was kind of peaceful.

But today, my thoughts were centered on only one thing. The mystery that was Jace Wayland. I just couldn't seem to figure him out! One day he was flirty and relaxed, then next he was egotistical and acting like a player. Taking a deep breath, I tried once again to sort through my feelings and get to the facts.

I had met Jace on the beach, and my first impression was that he was a fake. But after we both relaxed a little, he seemed okay. Actually, he seemed more than okay. That day, he was funny, charming, handsome, and relatively kind, if not a little on the sarcastic side. But at school, my overwhelming reaction to him was one of anger and annoyance. Jace talked to girls as if he owned them, and judging by their reactions, he kind of did. He acted like everything was a joke, and wasn't afraid to knock someone down with his harsh, arrogant words.

Normally, I would never puzzle over a guy's actions like this. I mean, they were guys. Most of them weren't worth the time. Except for one thing. The Jace that I knew on the beach? I kind of liked him. A lot. Enough that I almost _wanted_ to spend more time with him. But the Jace face he put on the rest of the time, no. That was the kind of guy that I knew to stay away from before I even gave him a chance. I wasn't sure how it was possible to like one side of someone, but absolutely hate the other side, and the biggest problem was, I wasn't sure which one was the real Jace.

I hadn't really been paying attention to my surroundings, and I barely even realized that I was passing a small park in the middle of a clearing. I wouldn't have noticed it at all, except that there was a drinking fountain. _Thank goodness, WATER!_ Thirst was my one weakness when I ran, so I started jogging over to the fountain when I noticed an indistinct shape on the ground. The closer I got, the more visible it was, until…

"_Jace?_ Oh my god. Oh my GOD." He was kneeling on the ground, hunched over his center, a tear slowly trickling down his cheek. "Jace? Can you hear me?" All past thoughts about his bipolar behavior gone, I crouched down next to Jace, lightly shaking him. "Oh my god. Jace, this isn't funny. Can you hear me? Say something!" He looked uncharacteristically weak, and I could see the pain in his eyes. "JACE! Snap out of it!" When he still didn't respond, I started to panic.

"Hello? Can anyone hear me? I need help! Please!" I didn't know what was wrong with him, but it felt like he was just…gone. His body was here, but his mind was somewhere else, reliving some other time.

We sat there for what felt like an hour, and when Jace still hadn't responded, I gave up and resigned myself to just sitting there, letting him lean against me as I waited for him to recover. I wondered why no one else from the team had come, but figured they probably just took another route back to the school. Time passed slowly, and I'm sure track practice had long since finished by the time Jace finally woke from his stupor.

He took a deep, shuddering breath, as if he hadn't breathed for the past three hours. I watched the light flood back into his eyes as Jace slowly took in his surroundings, his gaze landing on me in confusion. He sat up, taking his weight off of me, and with nothing more than my sports bra and shorts to cover me, the sudden chill of the crisp evening air rose goosebumps on my arms.

His expression flashed from uncertainty to embarrassment to understanding as reality caught up with him. Hurt flickered in his eyes as he remembered whatever caused him to be like this. "Hi. How did you get here?" Jace's voice was raw from the tension and strain of the last couple hours. There was no hint of the conceited Jace that ruled the school now, as if going through what he had stripped him of any façade.

"I…I don't know, really. I was coming to get a drink from the fountain, and I saw you just huddled there. It looked like you were in a coma or something, and I didn't know what to do. I've been sitting here the rest of the time, waiting for you to wake up."

He wiped the last of the tears from his salt-patterned cheeks and looked up at me through beautiful, long eyelashes. "Why?"

I didn't know why I had sat here with him, why I hadn't just gone and ran for help. "Well, I couldn't just leave you here alone. What if someone else found you like this? Or you…stopped breathing or something?" But I knew it was more than that. I didn't want anyone else to see him like this, weak and defenseless, no matter how much I hated his overly inflated ego. I didn't know for sure, but I felt like this was some private moment. Also, though I didn't want to admit it, part of me was hoping for the reappearance of my Beach Jace, and I wasn't sure if I would ever get to see that part of him again.

"So if I had stopped breathing, you would have given me mouth-to-mouth, right?" he said with a half-smile, a weak attempt to pick up his sarcastic defenses again.

I just shook my head. "If I had to, yes." He smiled, but the reality of the situation still lingered on both our minds.

He stood and offered his hand to help me up. When I took it, it was warm and slightly calloused, and a tingle shot up my arm. But Jace would be Jace, and he could only stand to be dependent for so long. "Look. I'm sorry you had to see that, and I appreciate you staying with me or whatever, but you really should go." His tough front was slowly creeping back into him.

_No! _I didn't want him to hide behind that disguise anymore. I was tired of him always playing it tough, never being real, and I didn't know when I would get a chance like this with the real him ever again. "Wait, Jace. First, can you explain what happened to you back there?"

He stared at me, an indecipherable look on his face, but the anger came into his voice, along with dulled anguish. "It's not your business."

"I think it is. After all, I was the one who waited for you for hours while you recovered. I deserve to know."

"_NO one_ deserves to know," he snarled softly. I couldn't shake the image of his broken figure huddled on the ground.

I could feel the conflicting emotions flurrying inside of me. On one hand, I wanted to be cautious. After all, I barely knew this boy, and most of what I did know wasn't good. I just saw him completely broken on the ground, so I wasn't too sure about his mental health either. But on the other hand, he was…Jace. He was standing in front of me, looking more like a tortured Greek god than he had any right to, and this may be the only time she would ever get with him. _Ah, hell._ I had known which path I would choose since that day on the beach.

"Jace, wait. You're right. It's none of my business. I'm sorry. Come on, let's get out of here."

**Jace**

_Great. Just great._ The one person that I absolutely didn't want to see me like this was walking next to me after witnessing one of my worst attacks. I knew I should be embarrassed, or at least feel _something_ but I didn't have the strength. The memory had stripped me of my toughness. Or maybe _she_ had. _Clary_.

I still couldn't believe that she was standing right next to me as we began the long walk back to school. I didn't want her here, yet at the same time I wouldn't have asked for anyone else. She continued to surprise me with whatever she said, and every time I thought I had her figured out, she'd proved me wrong.

We walked in silence for a while, alone with our thoughts and enjoying each other's company. I couldn't forget the memory that had rendered me incapable for so long. _Was it real? Did my parents actually take me there?_ I couldn't be sure, but something about it told me that it had happened. I had buried all memories of my parents after the day I heard the news because any recollection of them caused an ache inside of me. The completely unexpected attack left me breathless and released the hurt that had been building inside of me. The result? A Jace stripped to his core, revealing the real me.

And of course, Clary was there to see it. I still didn't know what to make of her. She was witty, feisty, independent, and attractive, all of which was appealing, if only for a short-term relationship. But there was something more to her, a depth that most of the other girls I'd dated seemed to be lacking, and a unique personality that I didn't think I would ever completely understand.

In another situation, with any other girl, I wouldn't hesitate to take her hand. But something about Clary made me falter. After what she had just witnessed, I'm sure she was questioning my mental health, let alone my romantic capabilities. So instead, we walked in a comfortable silence the rest of the way. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence. Instead, I found myself just enjoying her quiet company, though I didn't know how she felt about it.

The remaining sunlight was slowly dripping into the horizon, streaking the sky pink and orange when we reached the school parking lot. I turned to face Clary, at a complete loss of words. _What were you supposed to say to someone who had just witnessed a mental meltdown and that you may or may not have feelings for?_

"Umm, good night?" _GAH, it was definitely not that._

She smirked and gave me an amused look, as if she knew exactly what position I was in. But that wasn't possible. "Yup. Good night."

I wasn't sure what to do, or if she wanted to say more, but Clary took care of that problem with one simple action. She turned away.

I took a step back and looked at her one last time. She was stunning in the fading evening light, with the hair that had fallen out of her ponytail waving lazily in the wind. With a small smile, she got into her car, pulled out of the parking lot, and drove away without looking back.

**Hey you guys! Thanks for reading my note so quickly and getting back to me, it really makes a difference in my story! I hope you liked the next chapter (though that's pretty unlikely) and if you read this, PLEASE review. Let me know how I'm doing! (this is my first ever fanfic…)**

**Thanks so much, love you guys!**

**UniqueStreak**


	7. SiFi's Return

Chapter 7~ Si-Fi's Return

**Clary**

He was so confusing! I drove away, making sure not to send a second glance over my shoulder as I left him standing alone in the parking lot, but my thoughts still revolved around him. I wasn't sure if I was imagining the tension between us, but I hoped not. How could my feelings for this boy change so fast? _They weren't, _I reminded myself. I still had to be cautious around him. I felt like when I was around him, he was the real thing, but I hadn't known him long enough to tell for sure.

But for some reason, I was getting the impression that…he liked me. I was probably mistaken, considering that I was the farthest thing from the girls he usually dated that I could get. And I certainly wasn't about to change for him. All the same, though, he intrigued me, if not always in a good way. And I didn't know what to do about it.

I walked into the apartment, completely spent. The emotional "strain" of the last couple hours had finally caught up to me, and I knew it was time to crash. I was walking to my bedroom, thankful for the upcoming rest, when naturally my cell phone rang. _Curse the universe and its prejudice against sleep._

"Hello?"

"Hey, Fray. How's Seattle without me? Besides completely devoid of my perfection, I mean."

I groaned good-naturedly. "Hey, Si-Fi." It was Simon. I had come up with that nickname when we were kids after he had watched Star Wars for two days straight, then actually went to school dressed as Luke Skywalker. _God, I miss him._ "It has been absolutely dreadful without you, Si. I'm crying on my couch right now with a carton of ice cream because you missed my first day of school," I said sarcastically, but with a joking tone.

"Well good. That's what I wanted to hear. Because I have the perfect news for you. I'm moving to Seattle!"

"WHAT? Si, nuh-uh. NUH-UH!" I squealed into my phone, all thoughts of Jace completely banished as I heard the news that my best friend was coming to Seattle.

"Yeah, my dad is getting transferred to the Microsoft company up there, and we didn't want him to have to commute weekends and stuff, so we are moving up there!" I could hear his grin through the phone.

"This is so PERFECT!" I marveled at the coincidence. _How likely was it that two best friends move to the same city at the same time without any planning at all? _ There was no chance at all. _I take back my curse on the universe. Who needs sleep, anyway?_ "When are you coming?"

"This weekend we are moving in, so I'll be in school next Monday. It's all going kind of fast, but we'll make it work. Meanwhile, keep an eye out for any cute girls up there for me, 'kay?"

"Si, shut up. We've been over this. No girl is gonna date you while you're still in a relationship with those glasses." I sighed, picturing him, with the Harry Potter-like glasses obscuring his entire face. All the same, I found them adorable. I wasn't about to tell him that though.

I heard him fake-gasp through the phone. "Trust me, Clary. Chicks dig glasses. Just so you know, though, they also dig me."

I snorted. "Right. Chicks dig _you," _I said sarcastically. I yawned, and I heard Simon chuckle.

"All right, sleepyhead. Go get some rest." _Bless you, Simon._ "I'll call you tomorrow."

"'night, Simon." I yawned again, and I heard him laugh as I hung up.

Needless to say, as soon as my head touched my pillow, I was out. But my dreams were less easy to cope with. Hazy images of my mother's face floated in and out of my sight, and her face was almost like she was in pain.

I was haunted by Jace's crouching figure. In one of the many muddled scenes that drifted through my sleep, he was laying in the grass of an open meadow, his golden hair glinting in the sun. He was asleep, and his face was completely peaceful, like all the stress of his life was gone. But even in sleep, he wasn't completely innocent. He let off almost a mischievous aura, and as if in a trance, I crouched down next to him.

"No, Clary. Don't." My mother suddenly appeared behind me, and she approached me, shaking her head. I turned to her and smiled, realizing despite my fading anger, I had missed her. She gave me a sad smile, and hugged me. Murmuring into my hair, she said, "Oh, I've missed you, sweetheart."

"I've missed you too, Mom." I glanced back at Jace and gave her a helpless look.

"Oh, Clary, I know. Your father was just like him, charming, handsome, popular. But don't. Please, sweetheart. He will only hurt you," she warned. I leaned my head against her, wondering why she was warning me. I already knew about being careful. I had been careful almost my entire life.

And just like that, she was fading, along with everything else, and the dream was lost, just one out of a million others that evaporate with the retreat of sleep.

"Clary? Are you okay?" Isabelle whispered to me from across the aisle. I blinked back to reality and looked around me, confused. _Oh. I'm in English. Still._ It felt like hours since I had walked into this classroom, but really it had only been a few minutes. "I've been trying to get your attention for ages! What's up with you, anyways?"

I really didn't know. I had just been…out of it, I guess. This morning I had almost fallen asleep again when I was in the bathroom, and I almost poured orange juice into my cereal. "I'm just tired, Iz. Sorry," I tried to explain my dream-like state to her, but she just gave me an odd look and sighed.

"Anyway, I was saying that me and a couple friends are going to the mall tomorrow night. You could come if you wanted," Isabelle offered, a hopeful look in her eyes.

I thought about it. Sure, I wanted to get out, make some new friends, socialize and all. But I doubted whether I would fit in with her crowd at all. I think the only reason she was even talking to me was because I didn't openly worship Jace, like most of the other girls here._ Ah, what the heck. I could use some new clothes._ "Sure, Iz, I would love to. Thanks."

She rolled her eyes at my unenthusiastic tone. "You know, Clary, shopping isn't exactly a chore, especially when it's with friends." _This coming from a girl who changes outfits three times a day and has a pair of shoes for every day of the year. What a shocker._

"I'm well aware of that," I said, pointedly looking at her new dress that just barely fit the school's length requirements and then her 3-inch boot heels. But hey, the look fit her and she knew it. "It's just not my idea of 'fun'. There's no…challenge in it."

Isabelle snorted good-naturedly. "That's not what your wardrobe says."

I smiled. "Gee, thanks. My jeans really appreciated that one."

"Not to worry. I'll see you tomorrow night, and we'll repair the damage that has been done to your fashion sense. You just better hope it wasn't permanent. I've got the entire crew coming. We'll fix you right up!" Isabelle promised with a completely straight face. I laughed at how seriously she took clothes.

"Izzy, you realize there's more to life that clothes and shoes and shopping, right?"

"Sure. There's cute boys, fashion shows, clothes, cute boys, the mall, cute boys _at_ the mall…"

I faked a groan. "I worry about you sometimes, you know."

"Hey, that's Jace's catch phrase. Go get your own!" Isabelle accused, flipping her gorgeous hair over her shoulder indignantly. _God. How does the conversation always turn back to Jace?_

I forced a smile. "Fine, how 'bout this? And no offense…Isabelle, so us all a favor and put some clothes on."

Isabelle pretend-frowned. "You should leave the witty comebacks to Jace. That one was pretty bad."

I shrugged. "Hey, I tried."

"Hey Clary. Hey Isabelle," Cole walked up to our lunch table with his food in hand, smiling. I looked up, straight into his startling blue eyes. They were full of electricity and they seemed endless, and I couldn't help but be a little dazzled.

"Uh, hey Cole, what's up? Wait, weren't you at track yesterday?" I remembered a dark-haired boy about Cole's height, but I didn't pay too much attention. I was a little too focused on…another guy.

"Yup! I run short distance, but I'm pretty slow. I saw you there yesterday, I think. Distance, right?" he double-checked.

I nodded. He seemed nice. And he was cute too, with the slightly longer hairstyle and those beautiful eyes. _Much nicer than a certain someone_, I thought drily.

"Cole, you're coming to the mall tomorrow night with us, right?" Isabelle butted in, unaware of the conversation.

He smiled at me knowingly, as if saying _isn't she totally clueless, _before turning to her and replying, "Yeah, I'll be there. Drew and Zach are gonna be there too, I hope you don't mind that I invited them along. They're total social outcasts though, and I figured they needed the opportunity."

"Yeah, that's cool. Plus, Drew's kinda cute." Isabelle flashed me a mischievous grin before pulling a mini makeup kit out of her boots, flipping it open and fixing her already perfect eyeliner.

"Iz, come on, you look fine. Now eat your lunch instead of beautifying yourself," Cole pleaded.

It went on like that for the rest of lunch, Cole making friendly conversation with me and the others at the table, and Isabelle being herself. But of course, the perfect mood couldn't last, and the universe decided to knock me down _again._

"Hey, Carrot-top. How's the running going?" _Jace. Damn._

I turned around and replied with mock politeness, "Good, thank you for asking, Tall, Blond, and Dumbass."

To my surprise, he smiled, almost expecting the not-so-witty comeback. "Hi, Clary. Iz, Mom called. She said that she and Dad would be out tonight 'til late."

_What? He came over here just to tell her that?_ Isabelle was thinking along the same lines. "All right…? You can go now," she made a shooing gesture with her hands which he promptly ignored.

Instead, he sat down at our table, right in between me and Isabelle. I pretended to gag and Isabelle laughed, saying, "Right with you, Clary."

Jace ignored our light teasing and picked up his sandwich as if nothing was strange about the fact that _the_ Jace Wayland was sitting without his posse at a random lunch table, with a _redhead. _I shot Isabelle a glance over his head, like _Is it just me, or is Jace…not Jace?_ She shrugged and went back to eating, casual conversation passing around the table like nothing had happened. Jace occasionally joined in, but for the most part he seemed content just to sit there and listen to the everyday chatter of the high school.

_What the hell? _What happened to Jace's superior air, his _I'm-above-all-of-you-so-don't-even-try_ attitude? This was weird, to say the least, but it was a nice change from the other Jace I knew, so I went along with it.

"Crap." Jace looked down at his now-dirty fork, clattering to the ground under the table. He groaned softly and bent down to pick it up, his silky hair falling forward slightly to hide his beautiful face.

I felt a light feathery touch sliding up my calf, leaving a tingly, ticklish feeling behind, before I realized what must have made that sensation. Jace, under the table. Touching my leg.

I couldn't be sure it wasn't on accident. After all, he came back up with only a slight flush on his cheeks from bending down, with nothing to hint that anything out of the ordinary had happened. All the same though, I couldn't help but feel that there had been something intentional about the touch, if only to see if I would react.

_Since when did I become so hyperaware of a simple touch? It wasn't like I had never had a guy touch my leg before…Ugh._ I hated feeling so awkward around him, analyzing every single move he made. So what if he wanted to see how I would react? I wasn't reacting at all anyways, so what did it matter? For the rest of lunch though, I made sure to avoid any sort of contact with Jace. I wasn't exactly sure why, but I felt it was for the best.

After all, I wasn't letting this guy get to me, so what was the point of leading him on?


	8. Dress Up!

Chapter 8~Dress Up

**Clary**

"Izzy!" I squealed. "Let me go before my hand turns purple and falls off!" We were dashing through the mall, following the sales announcer's voice as she alerted the whole building to the Victoria's Secret sale opening now. Who knew that girl had such a death-grip? Probably earned it from years of practice gripping a purse tighter than I thought was humanly possible.

"Never! Not until we get you bumped up four…" Izzy raked her eyes over my current ensemble, blue jeans and a light green Hollister top that I had thought looked good at home, but was now starting to resent, and corrected herself. "…no, TEN notches on the fashion scale, girl!"

I blushed and looked down. I hadn't realized I looked _that_ hideous. But then again, that's what you get for standing next to Isabelle. Just being in the same room with her was like an instant hit on any girl's self-esteem.

We raced to the mall, finally arriving in front of a huge store with dimly lit aisles and plush carpeting everywhere. There were paintings of clothes models on every wall, though some of them were modeling very little clothes. Gone were the cute, flowery vintage tops I used to buy from the stores in California, and the racks of blue jeans that looked comfy and casual.

In its place were racks upon racks of dresses and skirts, thousands of heels lining shelves that surrounded the walls of the entire store. Purses and makeup occupied various booths set up inside, and I couldn't see the end of the sea of silver. I figured that someone like me could get lost in there and never find their way out again.

"I'm going in…_there_?" I squeaked nervously. "No way. Seriously, Izzy. I can't. I don't have the money, I don't have the looks, I don't have the-"

"Guts," Isabelle finished for me. "God, Clary. How can you face up to Jace like that without a hint of fear, and then quiver at the sight of the tiniest Victoria's Secret in Seattle?" She shook her head in disbelief and without another word, yanked me into the store.

I whimpered. "Okay, first, let's work on the…inside of you." _What did she mean, inside of m…Oh. _I found myself standing in front of a gigantic shelf of…lingerie.

"I am not wearing _any _of that! Besides, it's a waste anyway because there's no way in _hell_ anyone's ever going to _see_ me in that."

"Sure there is, Clary! I will make it happen if it's the last thing I do!" Isabelle said so perkily I had to suppress the urge to slap her. I blanched, and she quickly amended herself.

"No, I'll get you to wear it, not _see_ you in it! Geez, Clary, if I didn't know better, I would say you had never worn lingerie before." Isabelle exclaimed, exasperated. Little did she know, I hadn't. And I wasn't about to start now.

Isabelle had released her grip on my arm to examine a black lace number that unsurprisingly had very little lace, and I took a deep breath. Before I could change my mind, I made a break for it, sprinting away from Isabelle and out of the store…and straight into a wall.

"Ow…" I complained to myself, before looking up and realizing I hadn't run into a wall. I had run into something far more dangerous, even for a clumsy girl like me, who could hurt herself with anything. But I had run into something that could hurt me in a completely different way. Or should I say, some_one_.

"Maybe you should watch where you're going, Orphan Annie," smirked an amused Jace, grabbing onto my wrists to stop me from falling. _At least he wasn't recycling material,_ I thought dryly to myself. _First Carrot-top, then Orphan Annie._ I blushed in embarrassment and indignation.

"This is coming from the blondie that just walked into a pole," I tried to defend myself.

He looked offended. "I never did that!"

"Sure you did."

"When?"

"Right now." I shoved him as hard as I could into the flagpole behind him. He conked his head started swearing.

I grinned. "That was real smooth, Barbie."

He couldn't help but grinning through his pain. "Ahh, so you admit that you think I'm good-looking and sexy, then!"

Just then, Isabelle stormed out of the store, fuming, and wordlessly grabbed my arm, _again._ I was going to have a huge bruise the next day. Her grip was like a handcuff.

Even as she pulled me away angrily, I managed to shout back over my shoulder, "No, that was my way of letting you know that you look feminine! Meanwhile, you just admitted that you find a blonde, plastic doll good-looking and sexy." Just before I turned away to face Izzy and the consequences of my attempted jailbreak, I saw a smile sneak its way across his face before being hidden behind his golden locks.

Once we were back in the store, Isabelle turned to me, a look of hurt on her face. The weak light of the store cast shadows on her face, causing her innocent chocolate brown eyes to turn dark and mysterious, and I had to admit, with those perfect touches of makeup, she looked gorgeous.

"Clary, you ran away from me! How could you?" Isabelle fake-pouted with a mischievous glint in her eyes. She shrugged, then said nonchalantly, "Oh, well. Now I guess I'll have to dress you up double."

My eyes widened, but realizing that protesting would be useless and only draw more attention to us, I resigned myself to a night of torture.

We started again with the lingerie, hooking me up with a bunch of skimpy lacy numbers that I had no intention of wearing, before moving on to the rest of the store. Isabelle promptly fell in love with the high heeled death traps section and started loading me up with every pair she liked.

"Izzy, there's no way I can wear all these shoes! There's more heels here than pairs of shoes I've owned in my entire life!"

"Clary, relax! If worst comes to worst, we can share." Ooh, so that's what this was about. Buying all of this so we could share. I laughed.

"Izzy, why not just buy them for yourself then?"

"Because you are in desperate need of them, girl. You just won't admit it to yourself!" Sighing, I continued to comment on the items of intended purchase as the shoes piled up. By the time Iz had finished depleting the store's shoe supply, I was holding at least 15 pairs of new shoes, and that wasn't counting the ones that Izzy wanted to buy for herself.

"We need a place to put all this!" I complained as we prepared to head off to another section of the store.

"Just leave them at the counter. The store has people that will take them to your car for you, provided you purchase over $100-worth, which we've easily cleared by now" Isabelle informed me as if it was the most natural thing in the world to spend your life-savings on shoes.

Terrified, I looked at the price-tag of one of the pairs of black boots that she had chosen and nearly cried. "Seventy freakin' dollars? Are you insane? I don't have this kind of money! I'm saving for college, not a shoe garage"

Isabelle looked at me, confused. "Clary, you're not spending a single penny here. My parents own the entire franchise of Victoria's Secret, and since you're the guest of honor, you get a 100% discount."

"But…your parents don't even know me!" I spluttered, completely baffled and overwhelmed.

"They said that any friend of mine could shop here, and not to worry about the prices."

"They said that?" I asked disbelievingly.

"Well…no. But I figured that when I was born their daughter, it was implied that all friends shop no charge. After all, it would be rude not to help you out, right? C'mon, let's SHOP!" Geez, she was out of control.

But without having to worry about prices and bankruptcy and all, I relaxed and found myself almost enjoying the evening. We flew through the store, Isabelle picking up every item of clothing she thought would be suitable for me and loading it on to my arms. We made what felt like hundreds of trips to the dressing rooms to select the best of the best for us, until we finally reached the dresses section.

Izzy slowed, and so did I. "This is the section that takes the most time and requires utmost perfection in the art of style," she explained breathlessly. "Just walk around and tell me what you think. We'll meet back here with what we liked to try it on."

I walked slowly through the aisles, leafing through racks of dresses but not seeing anything special. I was about to give up and start searching for Izzy instead, when a flash of color caught my eye. Deciding not to stop quite yet, I quickly slid through the racks looking for whatever I had seen. Nothing showed up, 'til I gasped and pulled out the colorful dress that had caught my attention.

It was a strapless dress that was a pretty, pale green at the top but slowly shaded into a luscious, vibrant green at the bottom, which reached right above my knees. It was almost, but not quite ruffled, adding the perfect amount of flare. But what separated it from the other dresses most of all was that it looked comfortable and free. It was a dress that I would have worn on one of the many warm days spent at the beach back in Cali. It was gorgeous.

I loved it, and I was just about to rush to find Isabelle when it occurred to me that she had come up with almost every other article of clothing I had bought here. Given, her parents owned the store, but I couldn't help wanting to show her that I could find my own clothes once in a while. I wanted to surprise her.

I raced into the dressing room and started stripping right away. Slipping the dress on over my head, I admired the light fabric and silky feel. It was a beautiful dress, but I wasn't sure how great it would look once I was put into the picture.

There was a knock on my door, and Isabelle's excited voice filled the air. "Clary, I have something I want to show you! Hurry up!"

Stepping out of the stall, I said quietly, "I have something to show you, too." Isabelle's face lit up, and she smiled.

"Clary, you're gorgeous! It's perfect!" She paused for a moment, just taking in the dress, then said thoughtfully, "Wait one sec." She stepped into another stall before I could see what outfit she was carrying.

A few minutes later, Izzy stepped out in a short, sexy yet elegant red dress that brought out her beautiful dark hair and full red lips. We stood side by side in the mirror, just relishing how good we both looked. But some small corner of my mind couldn't help but think that compared to Isabelle, I'd be nothing but a shadow. Everything about her radiated attractiveness, her long, slender legs, her full chest, her thick, lustrous hair, and the stunning facial features. I couldn't compete.

Oblivious to my insecurities, Isabelle leaned over and put her arm around me. "There. Now we can both be beautiful together."

Once Izzy and I had finished up, we both put on one of our other favorite dresses and left the store, exhausted. At least, I was. Isabelle, on the other hand, looked like she had just come from a relaxing day at the spa, and she was ready to party.

"Come on, Clary! Let's go find some _guys!" _When I looked nervous, she said, "Oh, come on. Let loose a little. We're just meeting up with the guys from school."

We stopped in front of a room that was decked out like a club, minus the full-out bar.

"What _is_ this place?" I asked in wonder.

"It's the place we drop after we shop. It's just a dance club. Let's go in. I see some of the gang."

Pulling me in the door, we headed straight for the group of people I vaguely recognized from seeing around the school. My eyes met electric blue ones and I smiled as I recognized Cole.

"Hey Clary! Didn't expect to see you here. Did Izzy force you, too?" He smiled back, and I couldn't help noticing that he looked good in his casual polo shirt and jeans.

I groaned. "You bet. I'm exhausted! And before this, we did about four hours of shopping! What time is it, anyway?"

"About 8:30. Why?" I shrugged. He smiled again. "Would you like to dance?"

"Sure, thanks." We made our way out on the dance floor, awkwardly sashaying to the beat of the music. I felt a little self-conscious, but as I looked around, I realized that nobody was really paying attention. They were all just having fun.

Occasionally glancing around the room with a smile pushing its way onto my face, I began to lose myself in the music, laughing and singing with the others.

About fifteen minutes in, a slow song came on, and people randomly started pairing up with whoever was closest. Cole looked at me shyly. "Would you…" Not bothering to let him finish his sentence, I grabbed his hand and started dancing with him.

He looked embarrassed at first, but as the song went on we both lightened up. My hand was on his shoulder, and his hands were resting lightly on my waist. Normally, I would've felt uncomfortable, but there was something about Cole that made me worry-free.

Looking over his shoulder, a flash of gold whipped through the crowd. Jace. He was surrounded by a few other girls, all of which were drooling all over him. He glanced around and his gaze rested on me in Cole's arms. Jace noticed that I noticed him staring, and he gave me a conspiratorial grin, like we were both in on some secret joke, before turning away. But before my gaze left his, I saw a spark of something in his eyes. And it didn't look happy. I didn't know what it was, but for some reason, I wanted to believe it was…jealousy.

Shaking off grim thoughts of Jace, I broke apart from Cole when the song ended and started dancing to the beat again. Sometime after, a light brown-haired girl came up and started dancing next to me. We accidentally bumped into each other a couple of times, and she laughed. "Sorry. It's just so crowded in here!"

"Yeah, it's no problem. It's hard _not_ to touch someone, wherever you are in here!" I replied over the loud thumping of the music.

"I'm Maia. I recognize you from track!" the brunette introduced herself.

"Yeah, I'm Clary!" I was starting to sweat a little, and not wanting to ruin my dress, I decided to take a little break. "I'm gonna sit out for a while. You want to come?" I offered. Maia nodded and headed towards the tables near the soda fountain in the corner.

Sitting down at a table next to Cole, who had stopped dancing a couple minutes earlier, Maia glanced at him, then did a double-take.

"Who's your friend?" she stage-whispered to me, loud enough for Cole to hear. He grinned.

"I'm Cole."

"Maia."

"Well, Maia. I must say, you are the most pretty girl I've met all night. Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?" Cole attempted to flirt humorously. I smacked my forehead with my palm. _Ouch. To both the cheesy line and my forehead._

"Nice try, hotshot," Maia snickered. "That's the oldest one in the book. But if you really must know, I actually rose from the other place. I can be quite the badass."

"Ha, like that'll ever happen. I've just met you and I can already tell you're one of _those _types that actually does homework and has a bedtime."

She faked outrage. "Hey, don't knock homework! It's the key to success, the ticket to your future!" Maia was having a hard time keeping a straight face even as she said it.

"Yeah, the ticket to your future as a grumpy old widow with about 300 cats!"

I shook my head, glad that my two friends had hit it off so well, but it was time for me to go. Grabbing my coat and shopping bags, I searched the crowd for Izzy. Spotting her dancing in the middle of the floor, I caught her attention and waved.

"I'm leaving. Thank you," I mouthed to her over the crowd.

"See you tomorrow." She blew me a kiss and went back to dancing with the nearest guy. I smiled. _Oh, Izzy._

Making my way out the door and into the parking lot, I breathed in the fresh air, welcomingly. As fun as that had been, it was nice just to have some personal space once in a while. Slipping into my car, I drove back to my apartment, glad I had gone but completely worn out. Before I was even in the apartment, I was fantasizing about my pillow.

Getting ready for school the next day and then bed as quickly as I could, the last image that floated beneath my eyes before sleep hit was the look on Jace's face as he saw me dancing with Cole.

**Jace**

I was in the club, about five girls around me, all of them clamoring for my attention. I pushed them off as kindly as I could and stood up. I couldn't shake the image of Clary in Cole's arms, dancing. I told myself it didn't matter, that there was nothing going on between them, and I knew I was probably right.

But still, I felt a little…jealous. I imagined Clary dancing in _my_ arms, finally succumbing to my charm and crowning me victorious, and suddenly I felt sick. Clary wasn't just a game. I couldn't do that to her. Could I?_ Of course I could. I was Jace Wayland. That was how I rolled!_ What was wrong with me?

_Still,_ I told myself. _Maybe you should lay off on the stuck-up attitude. _I was tired of acting like a jerk to everyone. I wanted to just be myself. But I wasn't sure how everybody would take the news that the Jace that they knew wasn't for real, that really I didn't want to be the king of the school. That I didn't want to sleep with any more girls just for the one-night pleasures. Because in reality, though the night was amazing, after a while it wasn't for pleasure anymore. It was to prove something to myself. That I was tough enough to deal with anything. The rush it brought wore off, because truly, I didn't feel anything for these girls. But every morning I would still have to break the news to them. Tell them that I was sorry, but it was over. Break their hearts.

And shockingly enough, I didn't think I could do that to Clary. Already I knew I was starting to feel something different for her. Or at least, think about her more than I should. The only problem was that she had a horrible impression of me, and I didn't know if I could redeem myself. If I would get the _chance_ to redeem myself. Not only to her, but to everyone who knew me.

I walked out of the club, just needing some air, and found myself in the parking lot. _Ahh, what the heck._ I had ruined the party mood with my "deep" thoughts. I might as well just go home. Izzy could get a ride with one of her friends. I texted her the news, then slid into my car, thinking of Clary.

As I drove away, I resolved to myself that I would at least try to change, if not for her then at least for me. So I would be happy again. Little did I know, changing wouldn't be as easy as I thought. Especially if it involved Clary.

**Review? I'd really appreciate it!**


	9. Snowball? Really?

Chapter 9~ Snowball? Really?

**Clary**

My first thought when I pulled into the school parking lot for the fifth time was, _Ugh, I'm gonna die._ I was dead tired from last night, having stayed up 'til past midnight to study for three tests. Ironically, the late-night studying was probably what was going to cause me to fail the tests anyways.

Izzy met me in the parking lot and instantly started freaking out about how much homework she had last night, but despite the looks that might convince people otherwise, she was one of the smartest people I knew. Thinking that, it made me wonder why we didn't just get together and study last night. It would have gone a lot faster and I probably wouldn't be in this situation right now. A situation that definitely wasn't good.

I was tired enough that I was falling asleep against my locker door even through the incredible noise of high school hallways, and here I was facing three tests in my worst subjects on a Friday. You would think that Fridays would be days that teachers would lighten up a bit in the prospect of an inviting weekend, but no. instead they crammed the day chock-full of tests, quizzes, and due dates. _Ahh hell._ _Welcome to high school_.

I faced my first test in English, which was bearable and surprisingly easy. Of course, the fact that Isabelle was sitting right next to me with answers in plain view didn't hurt anything, but hey, when you only got five hours of sleep, you take all the help you can get.

Math wasn't so easy. I struggled through an hour of Calculus problems swimming before my eyes, wanting nothing more than to fall asleep right then and there. My pencil moved slower than I thought possible, and I had a sneaking suspicion that I had already failed the test.

In a moment of weakness, I risked it and laid my head down on my desk for just a few seconds. But a few seconds is all it takes for one very "special" person to attack.

"What, did my extremely buff abs give you some brain damage, Cherrytop?" Jace whisper-teased from a few seats behind me.

It took me a few seconds to process that he was referring to the night I rammed into him in the mall. Remembering how hard and flat his stomach was, I thought it actually might be possible. But I wasn't about to tell him that. "You wish, Blondie. If anyone has brain damage here, it would be you. How's that pole of yours treating your head?" I gave him a mischievous grin.

"Fray, Wayland, do you have something you wish to share with the rest of the class?" My eyes whipped back to the front of the classroom to see Mrs. Lanning glaring at the two of us like we had blown up a bus or something.

"No ma'am," I responded meekly, cheeks staining red.

Jace just smirked.

"Then I suggest you don't continue you flirting behind my back and complete your test before class ends." She turned around and continued with her computer work. My cheeks now resembled a wildfire, but thankfully no one made a big deal out of it. Most of the class had fallen victim to Mrs. Lanning's criticism at one time or another.

I went back to my test, which only had two problems left, and tried to ignore the smirk that I could feel covering a certain face behind me. Suddenly, something light hit the back of my head and landed on my desk. A paper snowball. Wow, real mature, Jace. Without turning around, I opened the crinkled paper to reveal a note.

_ By the way, I do find Barbies attractive. They're so petite and delicate. Especially when they're redheads._

_ -Jace _

Blushing in embarrassment, I quickly scribbled a response.

_ You would be the only one to find plastic sexy. What do you like about them? The fact that you can undress them so easily? Perv. _

_ -Clary_

I quickly threw it over my shoulder, hoping to hit him in the face. No such luck. Instead I missed entirely, and the note landed in the middle of the aisle. He smirked and raised one pale blond eyebrow, reaching down to pick it up.

Mrs. Lanning whipped around in her desk. I swear, that woman has eyes in the back of her head. "FRAY! WAYLAND! Detention, my office, tonight! Be here at 5:00, and bring your textbooks!" Crap. My first ever detention. And on a Friday night, too. If my mom ever found out about this, I was _so_ dead.

And let's not forget who's fault this all _really_ was… I turned around in my seat and gave Jace my best death glare, but he just smirked. That's what you get for associating with the one and only Jace Wayland. I wasn't sure why he was even paying so much attention to me in the first place. The obvious answer would be that he liked me. But I couldn't shake the feeling that I was just another one of his games, another challenge for him to conquer and the pass up like it was nothing.

It was all so confusing. I wasn't used to putting this much thought into a single guy's actions. But then again, guys had never really paid that much attention to me before this, so…

Whatever. It couldn't be that big of a deal, right? After all, it's not like he had actually asked me out, or even expressed any _real_ interest in me. There were just the subtle clues, like how real he seemed when he was alone with me, the look in his eyes when I drove away that night after track, and the flash of jealousy that I may have imagined at the mall the other day.

I had completely zoned out thinking about Jace, and before I knew it the bell had rung, springing us from yet another class. I had no idea what to do about Jace. Maybe I was just blowing everything out of proportion, and he did this with every new girl in school. Maybe I was just imagining the slight connection I felt towards him ever since I saw him, broken, in that park. Maybe he knew how fragile I was, after everything that had happened with my father, and he was trying to get me to break. Maybe…

But what if none of that was true, and Jace actually had feelings for me?

_Gah._ The more I thought about it, the more frustrating it became. Resigning myself to the ridiculous thunderstorm of thoughts and feelings that surrounded Jace, I walked out of the classroom, hoping that things would work themselves out and Jace would just leave me alone.

The rare Seattle sun shone down on my back as I walked across the field on my way to track practice with Kayla. Over the past week, I had gotten to know her and a couple other girls from track, and they were all really sweet and friendly.

I felt comfortable talking with them, and as we reached the locker rooms and they jumped up in greeting, I smiled to myself. They were so carefree and happy, and I couldn't help but loosen up when I was with them.

I changed into a red sports bra and green shorts, laughing along with the others as we recounted the many misfortunes of our lives.

"Wow, Clary. You look like a watermelon," Kayla laughed as she glanced at my outfit.

"Thanks, Kayla. It means a lot to me that you take the time to compare me to a fruit. And I do NOT look like a watermelon."

She grinned. "Just stating an opinion."

"One that no one else shares, by the way." I shook my head and grabbed her hand, tugging her towards the door. "Come on, we're gonna be late."


End file.
